May 20, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO -- In what can be described only as a classic showdown between two of the nation's top teams, Northwestern's 11th-seeded women's tennis team fell to third-seeded USC, 4-3, Friday at the San Francisco Tennis Club. After a rain delay postponed the match more than two hours, the 'Cats and Trojans battled back and forth with the emotion and intensity that more closely resembled a heavyweight title bout than a tennis match. In the end, USC edged the 'Cats in singles, ending NU's NCAA run.

The match, which included two lead changes and three ties, was one of the closest and hotly contested contests of the season for the 'Cats.

Northwestern started the match hot in doubles, with all three NU teams taking early leads.

Perhaps the most impressive performance was from freshman Georgia Rose (Mettawa, Ill./North Shore Country Day) and senior Feriel Esseghir (Sarasota, Fla./Brickhouse Academy) at No. 2. The NU duo flew out of the blocks, taking a 4-0 lead over USC's 18th-ranked team of Lindsey Nelson and Luana Magnani. After dropping the fifth game, the Wildcats took the next four -- breaking the Trojans twice in the process -- to take an 8-1 win.

NU sat comfortably after the win at No. 2, as both Wildcat teams were in the lead.

At No. 1, NU's 13th-ranked duo of Cristelle Grier (Epsom, England/Putney) and Alexis Prousis (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) split the first four games with the Southern Cal's 28th-ranked team of Dianne Matias and Carine Vermeulen. The Wildcats then went on a tear, taking six of the next seven games for the 8-4 victory.

At No. 3, Jamie Peisel (Savannah, Ga./Savannah Country Day) and Nazlie Ghazal (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) were involved in a tight match with USC's Judy DeVera and Amanda Fink. NU ran out to an early 3-1 lead, but the Trojans won five of the next seven games to take a 6-5 lead. It didn't amount to much, however, as the match was abandoned once Grier and Prousis won at No. 1.

With only three courts available for use at the San Francisco Tennis Club, the starts of the singles matches were staggered, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.

With NU leading 1-0, USC responded by tying the match at 1-1 with a win at No. 1 singles. No. 45 Rose -- who was riding a school-record 29-match winning streak (not counting abandoned matches) -- fell to the Trojans' 18th-ranked Nelson.

Nelson started off hot, taking five of the first six games of the set. After Nelson took the first set, the two split the two opening games of the second. Nelson, however, went on to win five of the next six games for the 6-2, 6-2 win.

At No. 2, the 11th-ranked Grier proved why she has won nearly every accolade a collegiate women's tennis player could hope to. Fighting off fatigue and injury, Grier kept a steady hand and she outlasted USC's seventh-ranked Fink, who retired in the third set due to injury. Grier won the match 6-3, 5-7, 3-0 (ret.).

Now trailing 2-1, the Trojans wasted little time evening up the score, as No. 37 Magnani topped No. 35 Prousis in three sets at the No. 3 position. After dropping the first set, Prousis rallied in the second and outlasted Magnani in the tiebreak to force a third set. There, Magnani took four of the first six sets and eventually took the match 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3, again evening the team score.

USC then took its first lead of the match when Matias took a straight-set win over Peisel at No. 4 singles. Matias cruised to a 6-0 first-set win, but Peisel made a match of it in the second set, splitting the first four games with the nation's 29th-ranked singles player. Peisel staved off two match points late in the set, but Matias ultimately took the 6-0, 6-4 win, giving USC a 3-2 lead.

Knowing that her team was one loss away from elimination, Esseghir came through with a clutch performance at the No. 5 spot and kept the Wildcats in the match. Esseghir was nothing short of spectacular in her opening set versus No. 59 Anastasiu, sprinting to a 3-1 lead before winning three of the last four games of the set. She broke Anastasiu twice in the first set, using superior ball placement and keeping her unforced errors to a minimum.

While the second set wasn't quite as dominating, it showed Esseghir's resilience. After taking an early 3-0, Esseghir dropped the next four matches to Anastasiu. Not to be outdone, Esseghir quickly tied the match at 4-4, then took three of the next four matches to win the match 6-0, 7-5.

With the team score knotted up at 3-3, every pair of eyes in the Tennis Center turned to court No. 4, where Ghazal faced USC's 101st-ranked Vermeulen.

The two were neck-and-neck through the first eight games, with each player holding serve. In the ninth game, however, Vermeulen broke Ghazal and the match's momentum began to shift. Vermeulen went on to take the set 6-4, then opened the second by winning four of the first five games. Ghazal stayed tough, winning the set's seventh game, but Vermeulen clinched it in the eighth game, giving USC the 4-3 decision.

While it goes down as a loss, the match is sure to raise some eyebrows around the world of collegiate tennis, as the Wildcats came within a few points of knocking off the nation's third-ranked team.

Northwestern can look back upon its NCAA appearance and smile, as the 'Cats recorded two shutouts, beat two ranked teams (including an upset of No. 6 Georgia Tech) and advanced to the Championships' quarterfinal round for the first time since 1987.

The Wildcats finish the 2005-06 campaign with an overall record of 24-5.

For three Wildcats - Grier, Prousis and Rose -- the season isn't quite finished yet. All three are slated to compete in the NCAA singles championship, which is held May 23-28.

Grier and Prousis will compete in the NCAA doubles championship as well.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 4, NORTHWESTERN 3

Doubles:

1) Cristelle Grier/Alexis Prousis (NU) def. Dianne Matias/Carine Vermeulen (USC) 8-4*

2) Georgia Rose/Feriel Esseghir (NU) def. Luana Magnani/Lindsey Nelson (USC) 8-1

3) Judy DeVera/Amanda Fink (USC) led Jamie Peisel/Nazlie Ghazal (NU) 6-5, abd.

Order of finish: 2, 1*, abd.

* Clinched doubles point

Singles:

1) Lindsey Nelson (USC) def. Georgia Rose (NU) 6-2, 6-2
2) Cristelle Grier (NU) def. Amanda Fink (USC) 6-1, 5-7, 3-0 (retired)
3) Luana Magnani (USC) def. Alexis Prousis (NU) 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3

4) Dianne Matias (USC) def. Jamie Peisel (NU) 6-0, 6-4
5) Feriel Esseghir (NU) def. Anca Anastasiu (USC) 6-2, 7-5
6) Carine Vermeulen (USC) def. Nazlie Ghazal (NU) 6-4, 6-2 *

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 *
* Clinched match

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